Seven Degrees of Separation
by drgemini86
Summary: Set in season 10. An accident offworld changes Daniel into Daniels. Can the team save him before it's too late? SamDaniel
1. Chapter 1

_**Seven Degrees of Separation, by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)**_

_**Summary: **__Set in season 10, an accident off-world changes Daniel into Daniels. Can the team find a solution before it's too late?_

_**Pairing: **__SamDaniel_

_**Rating: **__T_

_**Genres: **__Action/Adventure, AU, Drama, New Romance, Sci-Fi_

_**Warnings: **__possibly language and maybe a little rudeness_

_**A/N:**__ Got the idea for this from an episode of Fairly Odd Parents where Timmy wishes that he didn't have emotions. This is hopefully more complex than that was. _

_--------------------_

Sam stood on the edge of a grassy promontory overlooking the plain below which had the Stargate, her P-90 ready for action as she scanned the scene below. Teal'c stood behind her in a defensive position, his staff weapon at the ready should they get ambushed, while Daniel stood next to Sam, his P-90 ready too. Daniel murmured as his eyes moved over the plain,

"There doesn't seem to be anyone there."

Sam nodded slightly and waved her arm in a silent gesture for Daniel and Teal'c to follow her, the Jaffa remaining alert. As they made their way down a rocky slope leading to the plain, Teal'c instantly aimed his staff weapon on sensing something and he said quietly,

"ColonelCarter!"

Now reaching the bottom of the slope, they slid down the opposite side of it from where Teal'c had pointed, using the slope as a defence just as an Ori energy weapon blast skimmed the rocky surface, sending a small shower of little rocks and dust over the three members of SG-1 as they shot back at their enemy.

During the fire-fight that followed, Daniel said, grimacing as he pressed the trigger of his firearm instinctively on seeing each Ori soldier that bobbed up, "Cover me."

Sam frowned as she focussed on shooting, remarking, "Don't do anything stupid."

Daniel said, still shooting, "You're better shooters than me and you need someone to dial the 'gate."

Teal'c asked, swinging his staff weapon around as he took out target after target, "Would it not be more prudent to create a distraction?"

Sam nodded and replied, "I'll do it. I'll draw them to the other side of the 'gate and then you can follow Daniel."

"I am a much better candidate for creating the aforementioned distraction."

"No, Teal'c. You've got to watch Daniel's back."

Teal'c just nodded and Daniel said, worried, "Good luck."

Teal'c added, "You will succeed, ColonelCarter… _luck_ is not required."

Sam smiled and said, "Thanks guys," before crouching and running behind the 'gate, dodging energy weapon blasts. From her new position, she took aim and fired, signalling across to Daniel. With a little nod, the Archaeologist sprinted and ducked between staff blasts, crouching behind the DHD as Teal'c took his spot.

Firing at their enemy with his 9mm now, he reached up every so often to tap a symbol. Catching sight of Cam and Vala reaching the headland above, he, not wanting to give away their position to the enemy Jaffa, grabbed his radio and, whilst wincing as an energy blast flew straight past his face, called,

"Mitchell, heads up. There's about twenty soldiers… possibly more."

Cam's reply came as Daniel peeked from behind the DHD to see that the southern Colonel and Vala were now laying on their fronts in the grass as they joined the fire-fight, "Copy that. Those villagers must have either been blind, stupid or downright conspiring… What are you doing?"

"What does it look like!?"

"Good answer… and good luck, buddy."

"Thanks!"

Right before Daniel could reach the centre of the DHD to activate the event horizon, a large metal ball rolled out into the centre of the plain, stopping a couple of metres in front of the DHD. Daniel called into his radio,

"Sam?!"

Sam replied as she continued firing, "I have no idea what that is… you need to finish dialling."

Small circles of light appeared on the ball, the light expanding exponentially and engulfing the Archaeologist. Cam and Sam simultaneously yelled Daniel's name as he, mesmerised, dropped his 9mm as he stood up. Teal'c, concerned for his friend's welfare as the Ori troops withdrew, aimed his staff weapon and fired at the ball. The white light changed dramatically into a broad rainbow, sparks flying as Daniel collapsed and the ball exploded into flame.

Sam, yelling his name, ran out to him, not caring whether the soldiers were there or not as Cam and Vala came sprinting down the slope, Teal'c reaching the Archaeologist first, cradling his head in his lap. Sam ripped medical supplies out of her pocket as Cam asked,

"What the hell just happened?"

Sam shook her head as she checked her unconscious friend over, replying, "I don't know… I think that was an Ori version of a shock grenade… or maybe a probe…"

Sam met Teal'c's gaze, the Jaffa nodding imperceptibly and he hoisted the Archaeologist over his shoulder as Cam began to dial the 'gate, Sam quickly gathering samples of the destroyed ball in a hazmat container. Vala remarked, eyeing the remains of the mysterious ball,

"Judging by the way those soldiers ran away, that was probably meant to be deadly."

The 'gate dialled, and Sam having finished her work, Cam called into his radio as Vala transmitted the team's IDC, "General Landry, requesting a medical team to meet us… we've got one man down."

Landry's reply came, "Very well. Come on through."

Cam glanced around at his team and then led his three upright team-mates through the active event horizon, the unconscious one being carried.

--------------------

Arriving in the gateroom, the event horizon deactivating behind them as a medical team ran in, Landry asked as he eyed Daniel with concern, "Mitchell, what happened?"

Cam replied with a shrug as he and the rest of his team handed their firearms to the gateroom personnel, Carolyn treating Daniel, "A bunch of either lying or delusional villagers and an Ori ambush. Jackson got a close encounter with a new weapon that Sam has the tattered remains of."

Landry nodded and Sam said, gesturing to the box she carried, "I would like to have some tests performed on this, Sir… it could hold the key to helping Daniel."

"Understood, Colonel."

Noticing the team looking antsy as they watched their friend being wheeled out of the gateroom, Landry said, indicating the doorway with his head, "Go ahead. We'll sort out debriefs later."


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of hours later, as Cam, Teal'c and Vala sat by their friends' bedside despite Carolyn's repeated requests to the contrary, Sam joined them, saying softly as her eyes moved to Daniel,

"Hey… still no change?"

The conscious members of the team looked up, Cam replying as he got up to give her his seat, "He's still out for the count. You found anything?"

Sam said tiredly, silently refusing the seat as she held the back of Teal'c's chair, "A lot of it was useless… but it was emitting an energy signature corresponding to that of other Ori technology."

Vala said as Cam and Teal'c looked concerned, "Go and get some sleep… I'll get you if he wakes."

Sam shook her head and said with a little smile, her hand now on Teal'c's shoulder, the Jaffa's hand coming over it, "It's an SG-1 tradition… and besides, I won't be able to sleep."

Cam remarked, "Well, at least sit down before you end up on another bed in here. It's bad enough with _one_ of the band here…"

Teal'c said as he got up, "I do not require a chair."

Cam and Vala smiled at him in amusement as Sam replied, patting his shoulder, "Thanks but…"

Cam said, glaring at her, "Sit down… consider it an order."

Sam, her eyes closed, retorted drowsily, "We're the same rank, Cam."

A murmuring drew their eyes to the formerly prone figure of the Archaeologist, Sam's tiredness vanishing as they all moved closer to his bedside, Daniel's eyes flickering open as he whispered something incomprehensible. Vala called as she stepped out into the middle of the Infirmary,

"Doctor Lam! The physical embodiment of sunshine is awake!"

Cam looked at the dark-haired woman in bemusement, saying, "It's just sunshine."

Vala shrugged as Carolyn came running, and Daniel remarked, looking a little confused, his voice weak, "What did I do this time? Don't tell me I tried to save the day again… Jack's going to kill me."

As Carolyn and her Nurses pushed everyone out of the way, the team exchanged odd glances, and Cam whispered as they gathered at the end of his bed, "Uh… guys, does something seem a little… off?"

Teal'c replied as their eyes moved back to their friend to see Carolyn raising an eyebrow as the Archaeologist made another joke, "Indeed… DanielJackson's words are of an irritating nature and his manner is reminiscent of O'Neill's."

Sam said with a worried frown, "The CAT and MRI came back clean. If it's his brain, we haven't found anything."

Cam, agape, remarked in disbelief as Carolyn's eyebrow rose higher, "Our boy's flirting!"

Vala looked surprised and Sam approached. Daniel looked at her and smiled, saying, "Sam! Wow, you look tired… I'd move up but I'd probably fall off."

A now reddening Sam asked Carolyn, an eye on Daniel, "Carolyn, what's going on?"

Carolyn shrugged and said quietly, "I don't know… but what I do know is that guy is going to get a pretty big needle in the posterior before he gets discharged from here."

Daniel remarked with a grin, "You love me really."

He looked back at Sam and asked, "So… have you come to spring me? I wouldn't mind at all."

Sam blushed again and was about to reply when she heard Cam exclaim in surprise. She and Carolyn turned to see the rest of the team gaping at what appeared to be six Daniels; one looking annoyed, one smiling beatifically, one timidly hiding behind the previous one, one emotionless, one looking amazed at everything, and the last with his sleeves rolled up and looking every bit the action hero.

Vala remarked with a raised eyebrow, "Not that the female demographic of the mountain haven't fantasised of this day for a long time, yours truly included, but who on Earth are you?!"

The frowning one replied with a growl, "It appears that we're all the same person."

As Sam and Carolyn stared from the Daniel lying on the bed to the six standing, Cam remarked quietly, "No kidding…"

The gaping one replied distractedly as he looked up at the light, "Think the Seven Dwarves..."

Sam asked with a frown, "You're all facets of Daniel?"

All the Daniels, including the grumpy one, looked at her with a little smile, making her feel very self-conscious, and Cam remarked in bemusement, "Ok… so I'm guessing Angry McBad-Mood is Grumpy… the hiding guy is Bashful; the guy who's never seen a light fitting before is either Dopey or Happy…"

The emotionless one said, an eyebrow quirking upwards, "It's more like: anger, compassion, fear, intellect, passion, courage… and…"

He pointed to the reclining Daniel and continued, "Humour."

Cam, glaring at him, remarked in disappointment, "Damn! I was going to recite the Dwarves…"

Teal'c asked the Daniel that had identified the other Daniels, "Which of these facets do you represent?"

"I represent his intellect."

Cam stared at them for a moment and then turned to Sam, asking, "Sam? I got nothing."

Sam said, worried, "We're going to have to tell General Landry."

"Oh, joy."

Angry-Daniel stepped forward and said with a growl as he looked at Cam dangerously, "Just a sec."

Before anyone could react, he punched Cam straight into the face and remarked, "Always wanted to do that."

Vala opened her mouth to speak when angry-Daniel pointed at her and said, "Not a word. I'm sick of the rumours you propagate about the two of us. I am not interested and I never was. Get over it."

Compassionate-Daniel said, a hand on angry-Daniel's shoulder which was quickly shrugged off, "That wasn't very nice, Anger."

Everyone else stared at angry-Daniel in shock as Sam helped Cam up, the southern Colonel remarking as he grimaced in pain, Carolyn checking his rapidly ripening bruise, "What the hell was that for?!"

As that Daniel seethed, intellectual-Daniel stepped forward and said, "Well, I think it's time to see the General."

Passionate-Daniel said, excited as Carolyn summoned a wheelchair, "Oh wow, the briefing room is amazing… and we'll see the Stargate!"

Humorous-Daniel remarked, looking at Sam as he was helped into a wheelchair, "We'll have a better view than the Stargate and you know it."


	3. Chapter 3

Landry looked around at the seven Daniels and at his premier team, remarking as he rested his chin on his clasped hands, "Ok… This is either going to be our most memorable briefing to date… or I'm going to have to relieve myself of this command and get treated for a nervous breakdown. Does anyone else see seven Doctor Jacksons?"

Cam replied, feigning innocence along with Vala as Teal'c remained impassive, Sam ducking her head to hide a smile, "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir."

Sam said, her smile gone, "Sir, it would appear that Daniel was split into his constituent personalities. This may have been a by-product of whatever the Ori device was doing as Teal'c shot it."

Teal'c added as angry-Daniel glared at him, "Perhaps the energy of the staff weapon combined with the energy of the Ori device produced this effect."

Landry nodded and remarked, "So, how do we get this solved? By the way that guy's looking at Teal'c, he's going to have me to deal with before the day's done."

He looked at Cam and asked with a curious expression, "What's with the bruise, Mitchell?"

Cam replied, glaring across the table as angry-Daniel glared right back at him, "That would be Grumpy, Sir. I'm hoping that doesn't represent Jackson's real feelings, because I worked hard to get the band back together."

As passionate-Daniel got up to gape out of the window at the 'gate in the gateroom below, fearful-Daniel vainly attempting to stop him from going, a still bemused Landry remarked with a sigh, "Well, you're going to have run the rest of the Dwarves by me."

Sam replied, resulting in all of the Daniels looking at her again, much to Cam's eventual amusement, "The one standing represents Daniel's passion… the wheel-chaired one is humour, the one with his sleeves rolled up is courage, that one is compassion… fear, intellect… and anger."

Humorous-Daniel remarked with a smirk, "Well, that about sums it up, General. I hope you're recording this because we're _not_ up for an encore performance for Jack."

--------------------

While the Daniels were placed in sequestered quarters until further notice, Cam went to Sam's lab. He found the Astrophysicist bent over the remains of the burnt out Ori device, looking increasingly frustrated. Cam remarked as he stepped into the room, his hands in his pockets,

"Sam… for the mountain's sake, get some sleep. This will still be here in the morning."

Sam shook her head with a sigh as she poured back onto her seat rather than sat, replying as she held her head in her hands, "I just need to get to the bottom of this… Carolyn mentioned that the Daniels all have a slight cellular degeneration which is slowly but surely increasing. It's going to be weeks, possibly months before they notice anything, but I would rather have our Daniel back."

He nodded with a sigh, and she asked, "What are Teal'c and Vala doing?"

"Well… T's in Jackson's quarters doing his Kel-no-reem thing… and Vala's still sulking 'cos of what Grumpy said…"

Just then compassionate-Daniel appeared in the doorway, an SF shadowing him and Cam remarked, "You don't happen to be MacGyver as well, do you?"

Daniel asked in a level voice, looking at Sam briefly, "Mitchell, can you duck out for a few minutes?"

"Hell no."

Daniel rolled his eyes and remarked, looking a little shy, "I have an SF behind me and someone in front of me who once beat up a Mongol Chieftain. I'll be fine."

Cam looked at Sam, concerned, the Astrophysicist waving a little as she said, looking tired, "It's ok, the Sergeant has a gun and Bashful doesn't. Go on."

Cam's eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed, looking at the ceiling, "Bashful! Right… I'm guessing that other one's Doc…"

Sam rested the bridge of her nose in her hand as she said, "Cam, just go. I'm sure Teal'c knows them all."

"He does?"

"I don't know but there's only one way to find out… Go on."

With a lingering glance directed at Sam, Cam left and Daniel sat down opposite the Astrophysicist, pulling his chair closer to her. As the SF wondered whether he was either going to have to shoot the man or at least spread a little gossip, Daniel took a surprised Sam's hands in his as he said, gazing at her softly,

"Sam, get some sleep. You've been working for five hours straight and the answer's not going to jump out at you now. This will still be here tomorrow, and so will we."

She closed her eyes, hung her head in defeat and said weakly, "But I have to get to the bottom of this."

He smiled slightly and gently touched her face, making her meet his gaze as he replied, "We know you can do it, but you can only do it if you're rested."

He caressed the backs of her hands in a soothing gesture, continuing as he watched her close her eyes and exhale, "That wasn't conciliatory. It's the truth."

She opened her eyes again, her cheeks reddening as she ducked her head, replying quietly, "Thanks."

They both looked up at the doorway to see courageous-Daniel, shadowed by a bemused SF who sent a shrug to the first one, and Sam remarked, bemused, "If you've come to tell me to get some sleep… I've already been worked on."

Courageous-Daniel shook his head and stepped into the room as compassionate-Daniel said as he met her gaze again, smiling softly, "What he has to say is nicer, but I suppose it depends on you."

That Daniel got up, offering the other his seat, and courageous-Daniel sat down and said as Sam rested her chin in her hand, "There's a real advantage to being free like this. I get to do this…"

He leaned in and kissed her, the Astrophysicist freezing in surprise, unsure of what to do or to say, and he eventually pulled back and said as he got up, "Sweet dreams."

The Daniels left, leaving an increasingly stunned Sam wondering what had just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Cam wandered into the Commissary, sipping from an insulated mug, his other hand in his pocket as he scanned the myriad gossiping and dining heads. Sighting Teal'c and Vala, he smiled briefly and made his way over to the middle of the room, pocketing some cookies on the way. Teal'c looked up and said with a small polite smile,

"ColonelMitchell."

Vala said with a grin as she moved up to let him sit, "Cameron… you certainly look ebullient."

Puzzled, he sat down, asking, "I do?"

"Yep…"

She looked at Teal'c who said to her, "There is nothing out of the ordinary here, ValaMalDoran."

She remarked, looking a little frustrated, "Well, it's rather tedious being the token girl here…"

Cam, amused, said, "Last time I checked, Sam counted as a girl too."

"… or rather, token dark haired girl…"

She looked at him and asked, her eyes pleading with him, "Are you going anywhere off-base?"

As Teal'c smirked, Cam looked at her intensely and said as everyone else watched a grimacing Siler being escorted out of the Commissary, "Yes… home, and no, you can't."

"Oh Cameron, you're not very fun."

"I don't intend to be… not your kind of fun anyway."

He sighed as Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him, and he said in defeat, "Look, I'll take you out somewhere nice one day. Just not now… we've got a lot going on."

She grinned, excited as she said, "I've always wanted to see How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days…"

He glared at her, saying in a low voice, "No chick flicks!"

She continued to grin at him, this time teasingly, and Teal'c said, his smirk vanished, "Perhaps it would be appropriate to have an off-base celebration once DanielJackson is returned to us in whole."

Cam nodded solemnly as he looked at the tabletop briefly, Vala's smile vanishing as she said with a little sigh, "These seven Daniels are trying to say the least. My Daniel wouldn't have done that."

Cam remarked, touching his bruised nose, "Tell me about it…"

Snapping his head round to stare at her in surprise, he frowned, asking, "What the hell do you mean, 'your Daniel'?!"

Vala, feigning innocence, asked, "Didn't you know…?"

"Uh, no… and I doubt that Jackson ever did either."

Teal'c said, "DanielJackson does not see you in that manner, ValaMalDoran… perhaps he would if he had not encountered her but that is not likely."

Cam patted her shoulder consolingly as she remarked with disdain, "So I'm second to Snow White?"

Cam couldn't help but grin as he exclaimed excitedly, his accent becoming stronger as a result, "We could watch Snow White!"

Vala wearily looked at an equally weary Teal'c, who remarked in a cold voice, "ColonelMitchell, it has become more than obvious why DanielJackson caused physical damage to you yesterday."

Cam sobered up quickly, saying as he scratched the back of his neck, "I never really got why he did that… that guy represents his anger… why would he want to punch me?"

Vala shrugged, and Teal'c asked, cocking his head briefly, "Do you recall an alternate version of myself taking great pleasure in striking you?"

Cam looked from a stoic Teal'c to a confused yet intrigued Vala and then back to the Jaffa, asking, "What do you mean? Jackson's always wanted to dot me? Wait… _you've_ always wanted to give me a good pummelling?!"

Teal'c replied as Vala looked from one to the other as if she was watching a tennis match, "At times, I have been frustrated by your attempts to befriend me and to include me in matters of a social nature."

Cam, stunned, asked, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did not mention this because we were, as DanielJackson would say, breaking you in. You have since proved yourself in word and in deed, in battle and in calmer situations. The alternate universe where there was great animosity between your alternate self and mine was not a universe of which I would wish to be incumbent."

Cam remarked with a sigh, his heart sinking, "Which brings us back to why Jackson would want to hit me."

Teal'c replied, "These iterations of DanielJackson are merely facets of his character. Ordinarily, for example, DanielJackson would not cower in fear, nor would he construct remarks of a humorous albeit inappropriate nature. The remaining five facets are strong within his character."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Vala piped up, glancing at Teal'c as she said, "It does… a little, Cameron… after angry-Daniel had worked his characteristic charm on me, compassionate-Daniel reproved him. Perhaps his compassion controls his anger… only, now it can't."

Cam nodded slowly as Teal'c smiled slightly, bowing his head as Vala grinned in triumph, and the southern Colonel sighed, saying, "We're gonna have to have a little talk about this though… a _why_ would be good."

Teal'c said, an eyebrow raised, "The facet representing anger has demonstrated anger towards me too, but I am aware of the reason."

Cam and Vala looked at him in surprise, Vala remarking, "Why would Daniel have it in for you of all people? You're his best friend… or one of them after Snow White."

Teal'c replied, his gaze levelling, "It is a matter of the past."

Cam and Vala exchanged a glance before the Colonel realised what it was, carefully hiding his reaction from the dark-haired woman. He met Teal'c's gaze for a moment, the Jaffa knowing that he knew and saying nothing. Cam opened his mouth to speak when he sighted a Daniel making his way towards them, shadowed by an SF. Cam said as Teal'c budged up,

"Hey Happy, how's it hanging? Where's your wheelchair?"

Humorous-Daniel smiled at Teal'c in greeting as he sat down, remarking to Cam, "I'm more a cross between Happy and Dopey, if you're still keeping that up. As for that wheelchair, Carolyn took it away as punishment for stealing jell-o again."

He looked at Vala and said, "Hey, you're out in the open again... you ok?"

Vala, surprised, replied with a nod, "I'm fine."

He remarked with a little smile, "Don't take Anger up on his words… the guy hasn't been laid in nearly a decade."

Vala's eyes widened in surprise and shock as Cam and Teal'c exchanged a long look, the Colonel remarking as he looked embarrassed, "A little too much information, Jackson…"

Cam then asked, "So, what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Sam?"

Daniel retorted, his head cocked, "I could say the same for you. You three are still normal. Anyway, Sam kicked me out of her lab because I _might_ have made a rude remark about her lab table."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "I believe that ColonelCarter would do something more harmful than an extradition in that case."

Daniel shrugged, remarking, "Hey, what are you gonna do… So…"

Cam and Vala exchanged a little glance and then the former said, glancing at Teal'c, "Oh, I've just remembered! I've got a…"

Vala said, filling in the pause, "… meeting!"

"Ah yes, meeting."

Vala added, "And I've got to help him find the room… you know what these Colonels are like… blind as Moravian bats…"

The two quickly fled as Daniel looked up at them oddly, Teal'c inwardly plotting his revenge at being abandoned. He said as Daniel looked at him, "I too must join them."

Daniel grinned and said, stopping him, "Yeah right… come on, you and I are going to get a prank ready. I hear that Jack's coming."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him, and Daniel said in an attempt to entice him, "I know you want to… you've always wanted to get back at Jack for all those years of enforced fishing."

Teal'c was about to shoot him the look of death that had the power to scare the dead when he decided against it, and asked instead, his face emotionless, "What is your plan?"

Daniel beamed, almost bouncing in his seat as he said, excited, before whispering into the Jaffa's ear, "This is going to be so great! Ok… here's what we're going to do…"


	5. Chapter 5

_If you didn't get it, the Daniel that appeared in the last chapter was 'humorous-Daniel'. : D_

_Oh, a bit in this chapter is based on a DanielThor missing scene prank that the Gateworld SamDaniel thread's Jackie came up with aeons ago but has since stuck in my head. lol. I think she's Kody Wright on FF._

_--------------------_

Sam sighed as she made her way through a file folder that Bill had just given her, her face rested in her palms as she frowned at the data in front of her. Just then angry-Daniel came storming in, followed by his now desensitised SF, and she looked up, asking,

"Daniel?"

He walked to a wall and punched it before returning to her and saying with a growl, "How are you doing?"

She looked at him in bemusement and asked, "What's up?"

He hesitated before taking a nearby seat, replying in the same voice but this time a little softer, "I'm bored."

Surprised, she said with a little frown, "You're never bored. Why don't you go to your office?"

He glared at her briefly and replied, looking away from her, "Doctor Balinsky's there."

She smiled a little and then said, "Why are you here then? I'm not even in any of your fields of expertise, so theoretically I should be more boring than Balinsky."

"That isn't possible… and besides, there's something about you."

She blushed as she looked down at the table for a moment, and he continued, staring at the ceiling, "You're interesting… and you have fire. I like that."

She closed her eyes momentarily and then remarked, her cheeks still red, "Daniel, I've never had to say this to you… ever… ok, except for flirty-Daniel… but I liked you better when you weren't so forthright."

He asked point-blank, "It's Jack isn't it?"

Frowning in disbelief, she exclaimed, "What?!"

He stood up, throwing his hands down, and continued, "You and Jack… don't think I don't know."

Confused, she said, "Uh… no. I don't know what you think you know but there's nothing there… not that it's any business of yours. I think you had better leave."

He stormed out, his assigned SF smiling briefly at the Colonel before jogging after the angry Archaeologist. Sam groaned in frustration as she rested her head on her folded arms, wondering yet again what had happened.

"Hey, what's up?"

She looked up to see passionate-Daniel in the doorway, shadowed by his smirking SF. Having not had a chance to talk to him at close quarters, she asked as he gaped at an Apollo mission poster,

"What are you doing?"

He replied distractedly, "Uh… nothing much… you?"

She sighed, replying as she looked at the folder again, "I can't do this."

He looked at her in surprise, remarking with a little smile, "Now that is something I'd rarely believe."

Confused, she looked at him, and he continued, taking angry-Daniel's seat, "Jack was right… you always find a way to save the day; not that I needed Jack to tell me that. I mean, I'm not blind."

He sighed softly and said, looking at the file, "It took the Ori energy combined with the staff weapon energy to separate us… maybe…"

An idea dawning, she continued with a little smile, surprised nonetheless, "… maybe combining those two types of energy again will bring you back together!"

He shrugged, remarking with an adorable smile, "Or make forty-nine of us."

She smiled back at him, amazed, and said, "Thanks."

He blushed, saying, "I didn't do anything."

"Oh you did."

--------------------

Jack strolled through the SGC, having been briefed on the situation once, over the phone by Landry, and then, again, in person. He smiled to himself a little, remarking to himself fondly,

"Only Space Monkey…"

Peeping into the Infirmary, he raised his eyebrows briefly on seeing Siler being treated for burns, and he remarked from the doorway, feigning exasperation, "What was it this time, Sly?"

Siler, surprised, quickly stood to attention, resulting in the Nurse tending to his burns touching them by accident and making him grimace in pain. The Sergeant then said as Jack looked more and more amused,

"Electrical relay in sub-section C blew out Sir."

"Ah… you ok?"

"I'm fine, thanks Sir."

After an awkward pause, Jack said with a gesture of his hand, "At ease."

Siler finally relaxed a little and Jack said with a little wave, "See ya."

Siler saluted as Jack wandered off, his hands in his pockets, and he made his way to Sam's lab, now impatient on not seeing any of the reputed seven Daniels on the way. Just as he turned into her corridor, he was met by a fist which sent him sprawling to the floor, exclaiming as he clutched his nose,

"Jesus! What the he…"

Seeing Daniel… or rather, a Daniel, without glasses now being wrestled to the ground by his SF, Jack stood up, gingerly touching his painful nose as he asked, confused, "Daniel? What the hell is going on?"

Angry-Daniel, seething, said as Jack stopped the SF, "Stay away from Sam."

Blinking slowly in surprise, he asked, "What?"

"You heard. Stay away from her."

Dismissing the SF, Jack remarked, "Ok… and I repeat, what the hell is going on?"

As he blocked a tackle, slamming the Archaeologist face first against a wall, his hands secured behind his back, the General continued, "I heard about seven of you… but no-one mentioned a pissy version."

Sam came out of her lab, running towards them on seeing their position, and Jack looked up at her. Taking advantage of the distraction, angry-Daniel quickly turned the tables, painfully slamming Jack into the wall as he said coldly,

"Stay the hell away from her."

Sam said calmly, a concerned eye on her former CO as she slowly moved forwards, her hands up, "Daniel, put the General down."

Angry-Daniel looked at her and was about to slam a groaning Jack again when something in his eyes changed as he met Sam's gaze. His gaze softened and she said softly, gently working on releasing Daniel's hands from Jack,

"Daniel, look at yourself. This isn't you."

When she had succeeded in releasing Jack, angry-Daniel stormed off in a huff, and Sam asked, checking the General over and noticing, much to her dismay, a red patch on his nose with little cuts, "Sir, are you alright?"

He massaged a shoulder, remarking with a grimace, walking towards her lab, "I've had worse."

Shaking her head slightly in disbelief, she quickly grabbed his hands behind his back and pushed him towards the Infirmary, remarking as he protested, "Not taking a chance, Sir. Get in there. Carolyn isn't that scary."

"You've never met her mother…"

"Sir, don't make me call Teal'c."

--------------------

After Jack had been discharged, he left, wondering if all the Daniels were going to be as angry as that one, and whether they all apparently had a crush on Sam. He again made his way back to Sam's and had just entered the lab when another Daniel walked in, this time with Teal'c. The Daniel, humorous-Daniel to be precise, said, an arm around Teal'c,

"Guess what, we're getting married!"

He blinked slowly for the second time that day, remarking, "What?," as Sam, who had been leaning against a filing cabinet, nearly fell over in shock.

Teal'c replied with an unreadable expression, "That is true, O'Neill."

Jack said slowly, feeling stunned as Sam struggled to sit down, "Ok… so, uh, you two, huh?"

Humorous-Daniel grinned and said with a nod as Cam and Vala wandered in behind them, "Yes… and to resolve the little matter of children, we've decided to have a three-way marriage with Sam…"

Sam hid her face in embarrassment as Cam gaped in shock, Vala blinking slowly in surprise and asking, "Did we miss something... preferably something that would explain what's happening in any other way than a homosexual relationship between two of the straightest men of SG-1?"

Cam shot her a little glare and then looked at Teal'c, noticing his eyebrow go up a little and then humorous-Daniel gesture behind his back. Cam smiled briefly and then maintained his expression of surprise as he placed a hand on Vala's shoulder. Jack then looked at Sam and asked, his eyebrows fighting for real-estate on the top of his head,

"You're marrying the both of them?"

She stammered, still shocked, and he looked back at a beaming Daniel, who said, "We all love each other Jack, so why not?"

Jack remarked, confused, "It's not that... I just never figured that Teal'c would be the Village People type... Ok, you, I can see gay, but not T."

Daniel looked at him in feigned bemusement as Teal'c's eyebrow shot up, and then Daniel said with a little sigh, "Anyway, your prejudices aside..."

Teal'c interrupted him, saying, "We did not discuss a Pre-Nuptial agreement."

Finally getting what Cam was silently trying to tell her, Vala nearly gave the whole thing away but one look from Cam stifled her. As Sam had trouble remaining seated, Jack exclaimed,

"What?!"

Daniel said with a solemn nod, "Ah yes... well, in that case, whoever fathers the children, gets Sam."

Sam hid her face in total embarrassment, whispering to herself, "Oh boy."

Teal'c remarked, "If you insist, I will pull your lily-hued posterior through the launderette."

Cam couldn't help but quietly guffaw, and Daniel said with a grin, "It's _drag your lily ass through the cleaners_... close enough."

The two of them looked back at Jack who still looked stunned, and they looked at each other for a moment before Teal'c smirked ever so slightly and Daniel laughed, pointing at Jack in triumph,

"Oh! Your face!"

Jack, shocked again, asked, "What?"

Teal'c said, "Indeed. Your countenance was most humorous..."

Jack looked at Sam and then at Daniel and Teal'c, and asked, "You mean you're _not_ getting hitched?!"

"Of course not Jack... I can't believe you fell for it."

"Ah, that was all an act... now which of the Dwarfs are you?"

Sam, bright red, replied quietly, "That would be a cross between Happy and Dopey Sir..."

"Damn, I wanted to meet Sneezy!"

"There isn't a Sneezy one Sir."

"It's the _principle_ Carter..."


	6. Chapter 6

In an isolated lab, Sam worked on connecting the remains of the Ori device to Merlin's device, a plastic shield protecting her face as intellectual-Daniel watched her. From an elevated observation deck, the remaining six Daniels and the rest of SG-1 with Jack looked on with concern. To Sam's right, Bill, his face shielded too, periodically hovered a scanner over her work to monitor the emitted levels of Ori energy.

Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the air towards the stunned Astrophysicist, and before intellectual-Daniel or Bill, shielding their heads, could pull her out of the way, courageous-Daniel came tearing from the observation deck, yelling as the other Daniels followed with SG-1 and Jack,

"Sam!"

Before a second explosion could reach her, the impact of the first one just missing her, courageous-Daniel leapt with a shout, bodily tackling her to the ground as a huge ball of flame shot through where she had been standing. Breathing heavily, he looked up to see if it was safe and then asked, looking down at the Astrophysicist beneath him,

"You ok?"

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she remarked in embarrassment, "I will be if 180 lb of Rambo-Archaeologist would get off me."

Smiling briefly, he helped her up and then she hugged him, saying with a little smile, "Thanks."

Angry-Daniel turned on intellectual-Daniel, saying with a snarl as he advanced on him, "What the hell were you doing!? We nearly lost Sam and you just stood there protecting your own head!"

Sam covered her eyes as she tried to bring her growing stress levels down, SG-1 looking on in bemusement, and compassionate-Daniel said in a calm, soothing voice, "Anger, stop it. Sam's safe."

Angry-Daniel quietly seethed as Jack discreetly sidled away from him, not wanting to get in the way of the Archaeologist's fists again, and Vala said, looking disappointed, "What went wrong? You were doing so well."

Sam replied as she peered at the mostly undamaged mass of circuitry and equipment, Bill clearing up some of the mess, "There appears to be a failsafe of sorts on the Ori device."

She exhaled and continued as she closed her eyes to think, "If I keep going this way, I'm not going to get anywhere… Ah."

She opened her eyes, looking as though she had had a light bulb moment, and a sceptical Jack remarked, "Don't leave us hanging, Carter. We're dying to know… really. Don't skimp on the techno babble either… we all know that it means that all's right with the world if we're all confused."

Shaking her head slightly, she looked back at Jack and then the Daniels, saying, "I've been going the wrong way. All this time I've focussed on linking the devices together to siphon off the Ori energy…"

As Jack and Cam looked increasingly impatient, the Daniels waiting with bated breath, Sam continued, "… I never considered reversing the polarity… We've never been able to reproduce anything remotely like the residual energy signature detected in Daniel's BDUs that were taken from him prior to the split. The polarity could be the key… and then…"

She looked at Teal'c with a grin, saying, "… and I'm sure we'll get clearance this time for you to fire a staff weapon in the gateroom."

--------------------

In her own lab as she continued with her work, she looked up to see fearful-Daniel peeking into the room. He dove out of the way right as she looked, and she called, amused,

"Daniel, I'm not blind. Come on in."

After a long moment of hesitation, fearful-Daniel peeked into her lab again and Sam remarked with a fond smile as she remained where she was, "I don't bite… and I could use the company… I've never really had a chance to talk to you much yet."

Daniel stood in the doorway, his gaze downcast and she said gently, "You do it all the time, Daniel. You can do it now."

He closed his eyes and then stepped forward, and she continued when he paused again, "You don't let your fears rule you. You're not afraid to tell any of us that we're wrong… and you sure as heck aren't afraid of facing off an enemy off-world."

Slowly, Daniel made his way to a seat near to her and she smiled, saying as she gently touched his arm, "I knew you'd do it. So…"

He said so quietly that she had to lean forward to hear him, "I was just checking to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine, Daniel. Thanks."

He said in the same voice, looking at her briefly before shying away, "You need a break."

She shook her head and replied, a wistful glint in her eye, "I need to get this done. Come here a sec."

He stayed where he was, and she continued with a remark, "Daniel, do you not trust me?"

He hesitated and then leaned forward. She hugged him close, whispering as she smoothed his back,

"You have nothing to be scared of. I won't hurt you. You know that."

He clung onto her, asking quietly, "What if I lose you?"

She ran her fingers through his hair slowly, replying as she kissed his temple, "I, and the rest of the team are more worried about whether we'll lose you again."

He leaned his head on her shoulder, sighing softly and she thought with a tiny smile how much like a boy he seemed. She ran her fingers down the back of his head, his neck and then his upper back, saying,

"Come on, let's go get some coffee. I could use having my best friend here but seeing as he's all over the place right about now…"

She looked up, startled on seeing the other six Daniels coming in, followed by a confused SG-1 and Jack, and fearful-Daniel straightened up, gazing at her softly as he stroked her cheek, whispering before kissing her gently,

"Thank you."

As she looked on, shocked, he converted into yellow light, merging with compassionate-Daniel. Sam asked, scared,

"What's going on? What's happening? Where did that Daniel go?"

Compassionate-Daniel kneeled before her, holding her hands in his as he said with a little smile, "We don't know how we got separated but Fear was the key. By helping Fear to overcome his… well, fear, you freed Daniel as a whole."

He caressed her cheek and then said, "Anger needs help… and you've already come halfway with him."

Jack remarked, "Wait, so Carter doesn't get to legitimately have T shoot up the gateroom? Damn."

Humorous-Daniel retorted with a grin, the General looking at him oddly, having still not got over his and Teal'c's joke, "I'm sure you've seen more interesting things than an angry Jaffa, Jack."

"Funnily enough… no."

"What, like your best friend marrying your former second-in-command and other best friend?"

"I wouldn't say _best_ friend."

Cam asked, looking around at everyone as Teal'c slowly invaded Jack's personal space in an attempt to faze him, "What's stopping you guys from doing the light thing?"

Intellectual-Daniel said, pushing his glasses up, "I'll field that one… there's one more character flaw to overcome. Anger."

He looked at the angry iteration of the Archaeologist, and continued, looking at Sam with a slight smile, "You're almost there with him."

Confused, Sam asked, "What have I got to do?"

Passionate-Daniel replied distractedly as he gaped at a piece of equipment, "Just be yourself."

Sam stood up and approached angry-Daniel, the man staring daggers at Jack, and she gently touched his cheek. When he looked at her, his harsh expression softening, she smiled slightly and said quietly,

"'_An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind_'."

She kissed him on the cheek and then watched as he smiled softly at her, converting into red light and then merging with compassionate-Daniel, who smiled at her before changing into orange light. Intellect and Passion turned into green and blue light, merging with a multicoloured mass of light in the centre of the room, and humorous-Daniel remarked with a grin,

"Always saving the day."

He converted into purple light, merging with the mass, leaving courageous-Daniel, who approached Sam, gently touching her cheek and he kissed her, this time the Astrophysicist, surprised nonetheless, ready for it as she reciprocated, her friends turning away out of embarrassment. He gazed at her and whispered with a wry smile,

"I don't want to go back and be stifled again, but seeing as I have no choice…"

He rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck, and he continued in her ear so that no-one else but her could hear, "I love you. I always have and I always will."

As she looked on in utter surprise, he smiled at her as he slowly faded into indigo coloured light. The mass of lights swirled and expanded before contracting and dropping to the floor in the shape of a man. Sam instinctively stepped forward as Teal'c stepped forward out of concern for her, and when the light faded, they were all shocked to see Daniel – a single Daniel – lying on the floor, unconscious.

As Jack called for Carolyn, Sam cradled Daniel's head in her lap as she whispered, tears in her eyes, partly down to relief as she kissed his brow, "I never knew… I never knew."


	7. Chapter 7

Daniel woke up in the Infirmary, thousands of memories rushing forth into his consciousness, and he groaned. It was then that he became aware of a hand holding his and he looked up just in time to see Carolyn checking him over, and he closed his eyes again, asking in a weary voice,

"What happened?"

Hearing Jack's voice, he looked in the direction of the General to see him leaning on the back of Vala's chair, and he realised after a moment that they were on the wrong side to be holding his hand. Jack remarked,

"Well, hello there, Space Monkey. Nice to have you back."

A memory surfacing of punching the General, he winced, saying weakly as his eyes focussed on Jack's bruised nose, "Jack?"

Jack raised his eyebrows slowly, and Daniel continued with a regretful expression, "Sorry about your nose… and…"

He found Cam, and added, "… your nose too. I don't know what the hell happened but…"

Jack asked, intrigued as he shot a little look over to Teal'c, "Do you remember everything?"

Daniel groaned, replying, "Not _everything_, I don't think. I'm not sure whether they're dreams… they feel like them."

Seeing Jack, Cam, Teal'c and Vala, he, confused, asked, "Where's Sam?"

Another hand patted the one already being held and her voice replied softly, "Over here, silly."

Grimacing again as his head began to hurt, he turned to look at her… and then promptly reddened. He said sincerely,

"I'm so sorry… for everything."

She patted his hand again, gently kissing it as she said with a little smile, "Get some rest, Daniel."

Not wanting to be alone, he asked softly, his eyes looking vulnerable as Jack, Cam and Vala made faces while Teal'c smiled slightly, "Stay with me?"

"Always."

--------------------

_Okie dokey... I thought this would make a good ending but now I'm not so sure... Should it end here? Depending on how many reviews I get, I'll add a chapter or two by Friday. Thanks for reading! Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. : )_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to: Chem Girl, HOUSEM.D.FanForever, and jquist for giving me the go ahead to add more to the story... to Chem Girl in particular for inspiring the subject matter of this chapter and the next._

_See what happens when you drop a review, everyone? Don't make me do AvengingAngel101 style adverts at the end of each chapter! lol : D_

_--------------------_

During a quiet moment, as Daniel lay sleeping, Sam sat alone by his bedside, her mind all over the place with regard to everything that had happened. She sighed softly and then Jack walked in quietly, asking as he paused at the foot of Daniel's bed,

"Carter?"

Drawn out of her reverie, she looked up and said with a tired smile, "Sir."

He drew up a chair next to her and remarked, "Even Colonels need to eat and sleep."

She shook her head and replied as she looked at Daniel again, "I'm fine Sir. Cam, Teal'c and Vala all worked on me a little earlier anyway."

He watched her for a moment and then Daniel. He sighed, knowing that it was now or never, and when she looked at him, he asked,

"Carter, what do you feel for Daniel?"

She immediately looked startled, about to feign ignorance, and the General remarked with a tight smile, "That was some kiss you and Rambo had. _Actually_, I think you got kissed by at least half of them."

She blushed and after a moment's hesitation, replied, her gaze moving to Daniel, "I don't know Sir."

He nodded, a resigned expression on his face, and she said, meeting his gaze shyly, "Sir… about all that…it wouldn't have worked."

He smiled briefly, remarking, "Oh, I figured that out a long time ago. We're way too different… in a good way. I mean…I don't know what you're saying half the time, and… there's someone else I know who gives me an essay answer to the question 'how's it going'."

She blushed again, her gaze lowering to her hands in her lap, and he said, gazing at her for a moment, "I guess I should have seen it before… looking back, it's so clear."

When she looked at him, puzzled, he continued, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "Hell Carter, I'm not good at this sort of thing…our linguist is out of action… I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

He added after a pause, "Daniel cares for you a _lot_ more than a friend should or would. He's a good man and let's face it, he can give you everything you need."

She nodded slowly, deep in thought, and he leaned forward, patting her on the shoulder before getting up as he remarked, "I've quite possibly set the ball rolling for the greatest romance the mountain has ever seen. Look after him, Carter. He's been through so much crap that it would be really great to see him smile properly for once… you too."

She watched him lean over Daniel's bed, the older man gently caressing the Archaeologist's forehead with a father's tenderness, and then he left, leaving Sam to continue to think things over.

She leaned her head back in her seat, her eyes closed as she thought deep thoughts. She thought back over the years, and remembered weeping at his bedside as he lay dying from radiation poisoning, pouring her heart out to him, but what had she told him?

'_I don't know why we wait to tell people how we really feel. I guess I hoped you always knew…_'

Over the years, she had forgotten those words, forgotten the true meaning behind them, forgotten the hours and days she had cried for him after his 'death', how she had grieved for an entire year for him, never quite letting go.

'_At least you don't just like me for my looks._'

A stray tear coursed its way down her cheek as she remembered his consciousness trapped inside the rapidly weakening body of Ma'chello, Ma'chello's own consciousness usurping Daniel's body. It hurt to watch such an amazing man almost die in front of her as a result of the selfishness and short-sightedness of a man who essentially had the same goal as him.

_Fire engulfed his body as he yelled out to them, screaming in pain before a deathly silence fell upon the landscape of lava and heated volcanic gases. The Colonel had shouted for her and Teal'c to leap into a pool, strong hands grabbing her shoulders when she tried to reach for where Daniel had been..._

Despite the memory not being real, having been created by Nem so that he could take the Archaeologist and find out about his beloved Omoroca who had perished at the hands of the Goa'uld Belus so long ago, it got to her every time. The overpowering feelings of loss and the trauma of having apparently watched the death of their team-mate engulfed her consciousness if she let herself think about it properly.

'_You don't know him like we do._'

Colonel Emerson had doubted the possibility that the Archaeologist could have survived the huge battle between the Earth, Jaffa and Lucian Alliance ships, and the Ori battleships a few months back…but against all odds, but not against his own odds, Daniel had survived. He had survived by ringing off the Korolev to get help, seconds before the Russian ship was destroyed.

'_The Replicator resembling Sam beamed me…_'

Remembering a briefing after his second descension where Daniel had explained what had happened, what might have happened to explain the Replicators being immobilised for a few precious seconds and the paused base self-destruct timer, she gasped softly.

No matter what she felt, Daniel couldn't possibly love her. No way. How could he when she resembled her Replicator double, said double being responsible for his umpteenth death? She had felt physically sick for months after his return that time, blaming herself despite everyone telling her that it wasn't her fault.

Her thoughts then strayed to the seven Daniels, each one resembling a facet of his character, and how they each appeared to prefer her to some extent. She blushed on remembering the kisses from courageous-Daniel, compassionate-Daniel, and fearful-Daniel, but surmised that they weren't him, not in whole.

Daniel would never have done any of the things that those Daniels did. The kisses, the angry impulses, the practical joke…

What if the separation had freed the different facets of his character to be themselves without fear dominating them?

She pressed her lips together for a long moment in an attempt to stem her oncoming tears, whispering as she held his hand, stroking the back of it as she whispered, "We're going to have to talk, Daniel."

He murmured in reply, finishing with a little smile as his eyes opened, "Indeed."

She asked, smoothing his hair back, "How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better… a lot better."

He closed his eyes and exhaled as she caressed his brow, and she smiled slightly as she stood when Carolyn came over to check him over. As the Doctor did so, Daniel looked up at Sam and asked, worried,

"How long have you been here?"

Sam shrugged and replied, "Not long."

Carolyn remarked with a raised eyebrow as she looked back at the Astrophysicist, "That's a broad definition of 'not long' in that case."

The Doctor looked at Daniel as Sam looked sheepish, and she told him, "A lot longer than that."

Surprised and then concerned again, he said, looking at Sam once more, "Sam, you need to eat and rest."

She opened her mouth to speak, and he remarked weakly, "Coffee doesn't count… although I wouldn't mind…"

He turned his puppy-dog look on Carolyn, who retorted as Sam smiled in amusement as Cam appeared, "Not in my Infirmary."


	9. Chapter 9

After Cam had forced the Astrophysicist to eat something, the two of them wandered down a corridor together on their way to the Infirmary. After a long silence, he asked, glancing at her,

"What was all that about?"

Wrinkling her brow in partial confusion, she asked, "What was what about?"

He gestured awkwardly, replying, "You know... _that._"

She looked straight ahead, her cheeks reddening ever so slightly as his eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "You and Jackson?!"

Embarrassed, she shushed him as a suddenly very interested group of SFs walked past, and glancing back at the group before they turned a corner, she whispered, "Don't shout it from the rooftops!"

He smiled, remarking in a quieter tone of voice, "Ah, so there is something there after all... Well, can't say I'm surprised... well, _that_ surprised."

She looked at him, an eyebrow raised in surprise and incredulity, and he shrugged, this time grinning as he continued, "I was surprised that you _weren't_ an item especially after you came back from Nevada."

Confused, she looked at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

He remarked in partial disbelief, nudging her, "Oh come on! You two getting all cute together at the base of the ramp... Vala got a little pissy at it and then _you_ got jealous of Vala..."

She replied, a little too defensively, "I did not!"

"Oh-ho, you did! Tell me something, did you ask O'Neill whether Jonas was an extra back-up singer?"

She replied, embarrassed as she walked a little quicker, "We're not talking about Jonas."

"No, we're talking about you being scarily blind for an Air Force officer."

He patted her on the shoulder and remarked with a grin, "Go on, girl, go for it. You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy that kiss..."

She blushed and said, tight-lipped as they approached the Infirmary, "Cam, I wish you'd stop sensationalising everything."

He glared at her as they paused in the doorway, retorting, "It's _not_ sensationalising – it's taking an interest in my band."

She exhaled and they walked in, the southern Colonel looking at her with concern. Cam said, worried about her as they made their way to where Daniel's bed was,

"Sam?"

Without turning back or stopping, she replied quietly, "I'm not talking about this any more, Cam. Just leave it."

He shrugged and then they came across Daniel pulling on a t-shirt, Jack and Teal'c sat with him as they... well, Jack talked non-stop about the NHL game that he had missed. Daniel looked up on sensing a presence and smiled, mostly in relief, on seeing the two Colonels. Sam said softly as Jack's eyebrows slowly rose, his speech trailing off as he glanced at an amused Cam and then at a nonchalant Teal'c,

"Hey."

Smiling up at her, he replied, glancing down briefly, "Hey."

"Has Carolyn let you go?"

He nodded and remarked with a tiny smile, "And Jack's been force-feeding me NHL scores with a little NBA to boot."

Jack remarked as Vala strolled in, a touch apprehensive, "I wouldn't say _force-feeding_, Split Monkey."

Cam snickered quietly at Sam's side at the new name for the Archaeologist, and then he looked disappointed, remarking, "I never got the chance to recite the seven dwarfs..."

Sam retorted with an eyebrow raised, "You mentioned it enough."

Sam then smiled in amusement, Jack looking surprised as Teal'c said teasingly, "I am fully able to recite the names of the seven dwarfs, ColonelMitchell, and you cannot."

Vala, looking exuberant and excited, said, almost bouncing, "So can I!"

Jack asked, "Ah, but can you do it in alphabetical order?"

Daniel asked him with a little frown, "Can you?"

"I wasn't asking that!"

"Yeah, but there's no point in challenging people if you can't do it yourself."

"Says you. I bet you only know Sneezy."

Daniel raised his eyebrows at him and then said to the rest of the team as Sam shook her head, "Come on, let's show Jonathon McGeneral."

As Jack looked surprised at the name, Daniel looked up at Sam, and Cam asked, "How come you're not doing it, Sam?"

Sam replied, looking helpless, "Because I can only name about five off the top of my head. Go on, you guys do it."

Jack remarked, "No cheating..."

Looking at Teal'c, he continued, "And no synonyms – it has to be the Disney names. Hey, I wonder if Disney was a Goa'uld too..."

Vala shrugged and replied, "Well, he has enslaved the entire world with his animations of Caucasian princesses and anthropomorphic animals and fixtures."

Daniel said, intrigued, "Ah, good point..."

Jack snapped, waving his hands as Carolyn approached, "Don't duck out now!"

Daniel smiled at him cheekily and then said to the others, "Ready?" as Carolyn asked what was going on. Sam explained to her quietly and she quickly explained it to Landry who joined them shortly, both of them fighting to hide their smiles,

"Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy..."

Cam stopped and grimaced on not getting the next one as the others continued, "... Sleepy, Sneezy!"

Vala excitedly hi-fived Teal'c and Daniel, and then looked at Jack, remarking, "That showed you, my dear General."

Jack retorted with a shrug, "You cheated."

When they all looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and amusement, he continued, "I forgot to tell you that I know that Walt Disney's an Ancient and that he's been helping you out."

"Jaaaack!"

--------------------

After the excitement had died down, Sam offered to drive Daniel home later that night, neither saying much on the drive as they reflected on recent events. As she pulled up inside, she gazed for a moment out of the glass and then at him and said with a little smile,

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow – we're on leave for a whole week."

He gazed back at her and then replied, "I've got a better idea. Why don't you come in? It's been so long since we've hung out together... just us."

She said with a wistful expression, "Tell me about it. This Ori situation's really taken a lot out of us."

He nodded and she said after a moment's pause, "Ok."

He smiled slightly, patting her arm gently and then got out. As she followed suit, she suddenly became scared, her fears from earlier on resurfacing. Managing to keep a straight face, she followed him into his house and into the lounge as he switched lights on. Turning around, he was about to ask her if she wanted anything to drink when he sensed something was wrong. He asked, worried as he slowly stepped closer towards her,

"Sam? What's wrong?"

She shook her head, tears surging in her eyes and then surprised him by pulling him into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, "Just stay here... I..."

He, hesitantly at first, smoothed the back of her head as he replied quietly, closing his eyes, "Ssh, it's ok."

--------------------

A little later, they sat on the couch together, close but not touching as they discussed what had happened. She said with a little sigh as she gently moved the coffee around in her mug, looking down at it,

"I was surprised to say the least how powerful anger is in you, and fear too... and well, how not one of the seven facets were resentful or angry... or even spiteful towards me."

She met his gaze and he then looked down as he exhaled softly, saying quietly as he nodded slightly, "I don't really know what to say to that, except that I don't harbour any of those negative emotions when it comes to you. You're my best friend... in fact, you've been so much more than that this past decade."

She smiled briefly, remarking as she looked down again, "What crazy jobs we have."

He mirrored her smile, and then said, putting a hand to his head, "I can't believe I hit Jack... and Mitchell... and was ridiculously rude to Vala... Oh, and nearly hitting Teal'c."

She placed a hand over his and said gently, "That's because it wasn't you. All of those Daniels combined are you."

He met her gaze and gently caressed her cheek as he remarked, his cheeks flushing, "That's true, because I would never have told you what I did otherwise."

She closed her eyes, turning away from him again as she said, "I know. I mean, I killed you once. I tortured you. How could you possibly love me?!"

Feeling the urge to cry, she put her mug down and got up to leave, and he, surprised, stood up, calling, "Sam?"

Her voice heavy with tears, she shook her head as she made her way into the hallway to get her coat, and replied, "Sorry Daniel, I've got to get going."

He caught up with her and said, his back against the door, "Sam, that wasn't you. That never was you, and granted, I can be stupid and blind, but I made that difference from the beginning. She – it – was incapable of love, and you are capable of that and so much more."

Her gaze lowered and he gently hugged her, saying as he kissed her hair, "And as for that other part, you're wrong. I do love you. I love you so much that it hurts."

She met his gaze, surprised as he let her go, and she asked, "You do?"

He nodded and remarked with an embarrassed smile, "Why else would I punch Jack... apart from him being extremely annoying."

She gazed at him for a moment and then said, clinging onto him, "I wish you'd said something sooner. I never knew."

He gently kissed her neck, and she whispered the words that he had longed to hear for so many years, "And I, Daniel Jackson, love you too."

He began to cry quietly as he held her, whispering, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting, hoping... Oh God."

She gently released him and with equal tenderness, dried his tears and said, kissing his cheek, "Hopefully we'll get it right this time."

--------------------

Even more later, as Sam prepared to leave, he held her hand and said, gazing at her softly, "Stay."

Seeing something in his eyes, something deeper and more profound than what any other man would most likely have had in mind, she nodded, mesmerised. She then said, breaking eye contact,

"I have to go home to get a bag..."

He said with a small smile, "Some of your stuff's still here from the last time you stayed over."

Surprised, she remarked as she remembered the aftermath of her break-up with Pete and Daniel's return, "Daniel, that was almost two years ago."

He shrugged and said, "I was going to return it but one thing led to another."

She smiled, bemused, and then hugged him, resting her head on his chest as his own arms came around her, hugging her close to him. He then kissed her hair and they walked upstairs holding hands as he turned off the lights.

Upstairs, after various bed-time rituals, they sat together on the end of his bed and he remarked with a cheeky smile, his cheeks red, "This is different from sleeping off-world."

She retorted as she stroked his jaw, grinning, "We'd probably get busted by Cam if we did this off-world..."

She kissed him as their arms went around each other, and he whispered after the kiss, trailing little kisses on her neck, "Definitely."

She rolled her head back and then he stopped. She opened her eyes, confused, and he said, "I think we should take it slowly... this is new for both of us."

She nodded and he tenderly kissed her, the Astrophysicist replying as they lay together, the Archaeologist reaching up to switch the light off before holding her in his arms and hoping that it wasn't a dream, "Slow is good."

She turned in his embrace and kissed him again, her hand reaching up his back under his t-shirt as his own hand reached under her top, caressing her back, and they talked the entire night long, exchanging kisses and caresses.

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_Woo, finished! Thanks for reading!_


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